Devices for use in making slip-lasted shoes



Sept. 6, 1955 P. w. SENFLEBEN DEVICES FOR USE IN MAKING SLIP-LASTED SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Jan. 4, 1949 Paul WGenfle ban P 6, 1955 P. w. SENFLEBEN DEVICES FOR USE IN MAKING SLIP-LASTED SHOES Original Filed Jan. 4, 1949 2 Sheets-Shee 2 fizz/enfor Paul WJen/Zeberz United States Patent Ofiice DEVICES FOR USE IN MAKING SLIP-LASTED SHOES Paul W. Senfleben, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application January 4, 1949, Serial No. 69,151, now Patent No. 2,623,223, dated December 30, 1952. Divided and this application April 25, 1952, Serial No. 284,303

4 Claims. (Cl. 12-1) This invention relates to devices for use in shoemaking and is illustrated as embodied in improved devices for facilitating the spotting of platforms or platform units upon slip-lasted shoes. This application is a division of applicants copending application Serial No. 69,151, filed January 4, 1949, now Patent No. 2,623,223, granted December 30, 1952.

The present invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention, said invention being fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a slip-lasted shoe in the proper stage of its manufacture to receive a platform unit;

Fig. 2 shows in perspective a platform unit which is to be spotted and attached to the shoe illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view, partly in section and partly broken away, showing one illustrative device for use in spotting the platform unit shown in Fig. 2 upon the slip-lasted shoe shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view on line lV--lV of Fig. 3 showing in plan a flexible U-shaped band and mechanism for varying the width of said band;

Fig. 5 is a view showing in side elevation, partly broken away, the position of the rear portion of a platform unit cover of the shoe operated upon by the band at the time said cover is ready to receive, and after it has received, the platform unit; and

Fig. 6 shows in side elevation a modified device for use in spotting platform units in slip-lasted shoes such as shown in Fig. 1 and also for use in spotting heels upon slip-lasted shoes to which platforms have been attached.

The present invention is described as embodied in devices 28 (Figs. 3, 4 and S) and 22 (Fig. 6) for use in spotting a platform unit 24 (Figs. 2 and 5) upon a slip-lasted shoe 26 (Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 6) which is mounted upon a last 28 and has the rear half or heel seat portion 38 of its platform unit cover 32 turned right side out and forming with a heel seat portion of an insole or sock lining 34 of the shoe a pocket 36 (Figs. 1 and 3). The platform unit 24 comprises a platform 38 and a heel portion 41) which are secured together by staples 42 (Fig. 2).

As is well known to those skilled in the art, in the manufacture of the slip-lasted shoe 26 an upper 44 (Figs. 1, 3 and 5) and the sock lining 34 are united, off the last 28, together with the platform unit cover 32 which is subsequently wrapped around the periphery of the platform or platform unit 24. The platform unit cover 32 is usually sewed into a seam 46 which joins the sock lining 34 to the upper 44, in such a position that it is presented inside out and hugging the shoe upper. In the illustrative shoe 26 only a front half 48 of the platform unit cover 32 is shown as turned inside out Patented Sept. 6, 1955 or hugging the shoe upper, the rear half 30 of said cover being turned right side out as above described.

It is common practice to insert the last 28 in the shoe 26 with the front and rear halves 48, 30 of the platform unit cover 32 turned back or inside out and hugging the shoe upper 48 and the last, since a platform unit 24' can be quickly and effectively positioned upon and secured to the sock lining 34 when the platform unit cover 32 is thus positioned. However, in view of the difficulty of turning the rear half 38 of the platform unit cover 32 right side out around the rear portion of said platform unit 24 from its inside-out position hugging the shoe upper 44 and in open heel shoes also hugging the last 28, I propose when inserting the last in the shoe to have the forepart 48 only of the platform unit cover 32 turned back and inside out in hugging relation with the shoe, the rear half 30 of the platform unit cover being left projecting right side out and forming the pocket 36 with the sock lining 34. When the rear half 30 of the platform unit cover 32 is thus positioned it will be noted (Figs. 1 and 3) that in an open heel shoe the rear end of the seam 46 along which the shoe upper 44, the sock lining 34 and the platform unit cover 32 are joined is, somewhat wavy lengthwise and is spaced from a heel plate 50 of the last 28, the rear end of the seam 46 being displaced somewhat forwardly of the rear end of the heel plate of the last. The heel plate 50 which has a U-shaped marginal edge or rim constitutes the heel portion of the bottom of the last or the heel seat of the last and will be considered as part of the last. In making slip-lasted shoes the heel plate 50 is not necessary but most of the lasts are equipped with such plates so that the lasts may be used on regular work.

Prior to spotting the platform unit 24 upon the sock lining 34 it is desirable that the rear end of the seam 46 shall be circumferentially spread so as to lie in a plane and shall be arranged substantially adjacent to but slightly within the edge of the heel plate 50 of the last 28. To cause, Without the use of some suitable device, the rear end portion of the seam 46 to lie in a plane along the rear edge of the heel plate 50 of the last 28 while spotting the platform unit 24 upon the sock lining 34 is a slow and laborious operation. Moreover, when the platform unit 24 is spotted by hand it is the best practice to apply cement to an inner surface 52 (Fig. 2) of said unit only forward of the ball line of the said unit because cement rearward of said line interferes with the effective shifting of the heel end of the platform unit in the pocket 36 during the spotting operation. It is of course desirable that cement be applied if practicable to the entire inner surface 52 of the platform unit 24 so that said unit shall adhere throughout its length to sock lining 34.

With the above considerations in view there is provided the device 20 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) which comprises a pedestal 54 (Figs. 3 and 6) having secured to it by bolts 56 a horizontal platform or table 58. Formed in the table 58 is an undercut rectilinear guideway 60 in which slides a block 62 upon which is mounted a last pin 64 laterally shiftable to a slight extent to accommodate pin holes 66 (Fig. 3) in right and left lasts, Rotatably mounted upon a pivot pin 68 carried by the block 62 is a pair of rollers 70 which are constantly urged by a spring 72, opposite ends of which are attached to the block 62 and to the table 58, into engagement with a pair of arms 74 secured to a fulcrum pin 76 mounted in bores of a depending flange of a bracket 78 secured by bolts 80 to the table 58. Also secured to the fulcrum pin 76 is an arm 82. The bracket 78 may be regarded as part of the table 58.

Mounted for reciprocation in a bore or guideway 84 of the bracket 78 is a rod or carrier 86 the lower end of which is secured to a header 88 carrying cap screws 90 fitting in elongated slots 92 of a bifurcated portion of an arm 94 which is pivoted upon the fulcrum pin 76. Pinned to the upper end of the rod 86 is a boss $6 (Figs. 3 and of a bar 98 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) to one end of which is riveted the bight portion of a flexible or adjustable U-shaped band or former 100. The rod 86 is constantly urged upward by a weak spring 162 the upper end of which is attached to the bracket 78 and the lower end of which is attached to the arm 94. Pivotally mounted upon a threaded pivot stud 104 carried by the bar 98 is a pair of offset levers 106 comprising hand grips 108 and lower arms 110 having at their forward ends holes for receiving pins 112 secured to upper end portions of the band 100. The band 100 may be opened or closed by manually moving the hand grips 1G8 toward or away from one another. In order to retain the band 100 in its adjusted position there is pivoted to one of the hand grips 108 a ratchet 114 which is forced by a spring-pressed plunger 116 against a pawl 118 carried by the opposite hand grip.

Mounted upon a shoulder screw 120 (Fig. 3) threaded into the arm 94 is a C-shaped lever 122 pivotally connected by a link 124 to the arm 32. Pivoted to the central part of the C-shaped lever 122 is a rod 126 which is operatively connected to a treadle 128 pivotally mounted in the pedestal 54 and constantly urged upward by a strong spring 130.

After placing the last 28 upon which the shoe 26 is mounted, upon the pin 64 of the slidable block 62, the treadle 128 is depressed causing the U-shaped band 100 to enter the pocket 36 formed by the sock lining 34 and the upstanding rear half of the platform unit cover 32. Such motion is effected by rotating the arm 94 against the action of the weak spring 162 about the fulcrum pin 76, the arms 74, which constitute stops for the block 62, at this time being held against the bracket 78 by the spring 72 and accordingly the arm 82 partly because of the presence of the spring 72 and partly because of the construction and arrangement of the treadle operated arms and levers, being held stationary. As the U-shaped band 100 is lowered it engages the sock lining 34 just within the seam 46 and comes to rest. At this stage of the operation the operator ceases to depress the treadle 123 and manually swings the hand grips 108 toward one another with the result that the lateral lower end portions of the U-shaped band 160 wipe the lateral heel seat portions of the sock lining outwardly and move to a position just outside the seam, said seam assuming a U-shape substantially the same as the outline of the heel plate 50 of the last 28. After expanding the band 100 the operator releases the grips 108, the band being prevented from collapsing by the engagement of teeth of the ratchet 114 with the pawl 118. It will be understood that when the sock lining 34 is smoothed or spread out it has an outline similar to the outline of the bottom of the last.

When the U-shaped band 100 has been suitably adjusted to spread or open up the pocket 36 to its proper shape, depression of the treadle 128 is continued, thereby causing counterclockwise rotation (Fig. l) of the fulcrum pin 76 in the bracket 78 and accordingly movement of the block 62 and the last 28 in a direction 132 until the rear end of the U-shaped band 100 slides over the rear end of the seam 46 and assumes a position just above the rear end of the heel plate 50 of the last, as illustrated in Fig. 5. While the rear half 39 of the platform unit cover 32 is thus held the platform unit 24, which as illustrated consists of the platform 38 and the wood heel portion and the entire inner surface 52 of which is coated with cement, is spotted upon the sock lining 34 of the shoe, the heel seat rim of said unit resting upon the seam. After spotting the platform unit 24 upon the sock lining 34, the unit is tapped with a hammer to cause said unit to adhere to the sock lining. The treadle 128 is then released and is raised by the action of the ill spring 130, causing the arms 74 to move back against the bracket 78 and, assisted by the spring 102, the U-shaped band to move upward to its raised position from its position between the platform unit cover 30 and the platform unit 24, the block 62 then moving back under the action of the spring 72 to its initial position in which its rollers 70 are in engagement with the arms 74. The guideway 84 of the bracket 78 of the table 58 may be described as lying in substantially the same plane as and as being inclined to the guideway 60.

By the use of the above-described device 20 the seam 46 along which the upper 44, the sock lining 34 and the platform cover 32 are joined extends substantially along the entire edge of the bottom of the last 28 and retains such position while the platform unit 24 is being spotted upon and adhesively secured to the shoe, the U-shaped band 100, in addition, providing entry to the pocket 36 and serving to position the rear end portion of the seam 46 so that the platform unit 24 may be immediately spotted without having to shift portions of the sock lining 34 and the rear half 30 of the platform unit cover 32. It will thus be apparent that the entire inner surface 52 of the platform unit 24 may be coated with cement, since during the spotting operation no feeling or shifting of the platform unit 24 with relation to the shoe is necessary.

When the shoe 26, mounted on the last 28, has been removed from the device 20 it is finished by conventional methods well known to those skilled in the art.

The above described device, if desirable, may be replaced by the modified device 22 (Fig. 6) which is claimed in applicants copending application, referred to above. This modified device comprises treadle mechanism such as above described, the pivot screw being permanently secured to the bracket 78 and the U-shaped flexible band 160 and operating mechanism therefor being omitted. In the device 22 there is mounted upon a pivot pin 134, which is mounted in a yoke 136 secured by bolts 138 to the bracket 78, a pair of arms 140 carrying a bar 142 which when swung into its operating position lies on the platform unit and is provided with a face 144 constructed and arranged to be engaged by a breast lip 146 of the heel portion 40 of the platform unit 24.

In the operation of the device 22 the last 28 upon which the shoe 26 is mounted is placed upon the pin 64, and the platform unit 24, the inner surface 52 of which has been coated with cement forward of its ball line, is manually inserted in the pocket 36 without pressing the forepart of said unit against the sock lining 34. The operator then depresses the treadle 128 causing the last 28 to be moved in the direction 132 with the result that the heel portion 40 of the platform unit 24 is moved downward and rearward with relation to the shoe into place. It will be noted that the pivot pin 134 is located a substantial distance below the heel plate 50 of the last 28. The heightwise position or" the pivot pin 13-3 may be varied to vary the vertical component of: thrust imparted to the platform unit 24 by the bar 142. The operator then taps the forepart of the platform unit 2- after it has been properly spotted against the sock lining 34, the heel portion 46 of said unit being held in place in the pocket of the rear half as of the platform cover 32.

In the manufacture of slip-lasted shoes the platform 33 is sometimes spotted and cemented to the sock lining 34 as a separate unit while the entire platform unit cover 32, which may be described as a platform and heel cover, is turned inside out in hugging relation with the shoe and the last. After cementing the platform 38 to the sock lining 34 the rear half 3 of the cover 32 is turned right side out to its position shown in Fig. 6. The last 28 upon which the shoe 26 is mounted is then positioned upon the pin 64 and a separate heel which is similar to the heel portion 49 of the platform unit 24 and has its inner surface coated with fluid cement is placed in the pocket 36 upon the platform. The operator then swings the arms 140 about the pivot pin 134 to move the bar 142 against the platform and against the breast lip of the heel and depresses the treadle 128 causing the platform and the rear half 30 of the platform unit cover 32 to be forced against the heel, the heel when properly spotted being tapped to secure it to the platform.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device for spotting the heel end of a platform unit upon the sock lining of a slip-lasted shoe which is mounted upon a last with the rear portion of its platform cover turned right side out to form a pocket with the sock lining, a support for the shoe on its last mounted for movement in a direction generally length- Wise of the shoe, a former, means for first effecting relative movement of the support and the former generally heightwise of the shoe to cause the former to be inserted in said pocket and to effect engagement of the former and the heel-seat portion of said sock lining and for thereafter effecting movement of the support generally lengthwise of the shoe to cause the former to shape the rear portion of the platform cover to approximately the shape it is to assume in the finished shoe.

2. In a device for spotting the heel end of a platform unit upon the sock lining of a slip-lasted shoe which is mounted upon a last with the rear portion of the platform cover turned right side out to form a pocket with the sock lining, a slide upon which the shoe on its last is mounted, a flexible U-shaped band, means for moving the band into the pocket, which is formed by the heel-seat portion of the sock lining and the rear portion of the platform cover, and into engagement with said'lining, means for spreading said U-shaped band to vary the width of the band, and accordingly said pocket, means for holding the band in its spread position, and means for moving the last and accordingly the shoe generally lengthwise of the shoe to cause said band in said pocket to move the rear end of the cover and sock lining into substantial engagement with the entire edge of the heel seat of the last and to force the rear end of the band with substantial pressure against the rear end of the platform cover.

3. In a device for spotting the heel end of a platform unit upon the sock lining of a slip-lasted shoe which is mounted upon a last with the rear portion of the platform cover turned right side out to form a pocket with the sock lining, a movable slide upon which the shoe on its last is mounted, a movable former, and treadle-operated mechanism operatively connected to the former and to the slide, said mechanism upon depression of the treadle being constructed and arranged to elfect relative movement generally heightwise of the shoe between the slide and the former to cause the former to enter the pocket formed by the heel seat of the sock lining and the rear portion of the platform cover, and to engage said lining, and thereafter to elfect relative movement between the former on the one hand and the last and the shoe mounted on it on the other hand generally lengthwise of the shoe to conform the pocket to the outline of the rim of the heel seat of the last.

4. In a device for spotting the heel end of a platform unit upon the sock lining of a slip-lasted shoe which is mounted upon a last with the rear portion of the platform cover turned right side out to form a pocket with the sock lining, a table having a rectilinear guideway, a slide which has a last pin and is movable along said guideway, a stop, a spring for constantly urging said slide to an idle position against said stop, a second guideway which is formed in said table and which is arranged in the same general plane as and is inclined to the firstnamed guideway, a carrier mounted for movement in the second-named guideway, an adjustable U-shaped band mounted upon the carrier, and means which comprises a treadle and is constructed and arranged to operate the slide and the carrier in timed relation, said means being constructed and arranged upon actuation of the treadle first to move the carrier along its guideway to move said band into the pocket formed by the heel seat of the sock lining and the rear portion of the platform cover and then into engagement with the sock lining, and thereafter to displace the stop in a direction to move the slide along its guideway away from its idle position against the action of said spring to conform said pocket to the outline of the rim of the heel seat of the last.

2,514,512 Pratt July 11, 1950 

